London, September 6, 2025
From September 7 to 11, 2025, London Underground workers; train operators, controllers, station staff, signallers, emergency response teams, and more, are staging nearly continuous walkouts to protest fatigue, extreme shift patterns, and broken promises. TfL has offered a modest 3.4% pay rise, but the union is asking for a 32-hour workweek and better treatment, demands TfL labels “unaffordable.”
(The Guardian, The Times, The Sun, TfL)
A Union’s Role: Solidarity, Not Overreach
This strike reminds us that workers, not billionaire executives, are the backbone of daily life. From safety concerns to inconsistent scheduling, their shared experiences transcend job titles. Yet, union power should encourage cooperation, not dominance. Unions must fight for fairness but avoid overreaching in ways that alienate public trust. The goal is a peer relationship of mutual respect between labor and management.
White Collar Solidarity Rising
Across offices and codebases, tech and professional workers are awakening to their shared vulnerabilities. AI is reshuffling the labor terrain, and fast.
AI is already acting as job creator and destroyer: The White House’s Labor Secretary promotes reskilling, but reports show AI may eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs in just a few years.
(NY Post, Fortune, Axios)At the Aspen Ideas Festival, Ford’s CEO warned openly that “AI could replace literally half of all white-collar workers.”
(News.com.au)U.S. labor unions, from the AFL-CIO to the Teamsters, are lobbying for AI regulations in worker contracts and state laws. Measures include keeping humans in key roles of autonomous systems and curbing algorithmic decision-making about jobs.
(Washington Post)
Meanwhile, tech workers are organizing:
The Tech Workers Coalition speaks to solidarity across the tech ecosystem, between engineers and service staff alike.
(Wikipedia)Recent academic studies reveal formal organizing is rising among tech professionals, especially those already engaged in social activism.
(arXiv)
A Civic Minded Call to Action
Strike petitions and protests are only the beginning. Here is how solidarity can build forward:
Publicly support the Tube workers. Humanize the story. Share social posts, amplify their demands, and stress the importance of fair work hours.
Encourage workplace organizing. White collar and gig workers alike must recognize their collective stakes in AI’s future.
Advocate for balanced unionism. Promote contracts that protect workers and keep operations sustainable.
Push for AI labor policy. Call upon lawmakers to require human oversight, transparency, and protections in AI-powered workplaces.
Tell local stories. Whether you are in tech or transport, spotlight voices you know: drivers, engineers, librarians facing AI pressure, or research workers forming coalitions.
Why This Matters
Across the Underground tunnels and digital dashboards, a shared truth surfaces: workers gain strength together, not from billionaires, but from each other. In solidarity, and in balance, lies the path to an equitable future, where negotiation, not domination, defines power.